Payrolls likely grew in March, economists say

Payrolls probably grew in March and factories kept assembly lines moving, signaling the U.S. expansion chugged ahead even as federal spending cuts set in, economists said before reports due out this week.

Employers hired a net 200,000 workers this month after taking on 236,000 in February, according to the median forecast of 58 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Friday figures from the Labor Department. Another report may show manufacturing expanded at close to the fastest pace in almost two years.

The pickup in hiring, combined with a rebound in housing and record stock prices, is helping Americans weather an increase in the payroll tax, triggering gains in spending that are in turn promoting more employment. Factories are boosting production in response to improving sales and business investment, strengthening an economy facing automatic federal budget cuts.

"The U.S. economy is rebounding," Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase in New York, said in a Thursday report. "The prospects for continued strong employment gains look good, even as the economy absorbs the fiscal drag."

The jobless rate held at 7.7% this month, matching February's reading as the lowest since December 2008, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

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Payrolls likely grew in March, economists say

Payrolls probably grew in March and factories kept assembly lines moving, signaling the U.S. expansion chugged ahead even as federal spending cuts set in, economists said before reports due out this